On October 21 2015 03:50 Requizen wrote: For those of you who enjoy horror fiction, what kind of stories do you like?
Generally I find that horror stories (or any horror media, really) fall into 3 main groups. Monster, gore, or psycho humans. Of course, there are some overlap and outliers, but I think that in general those are the obvious pillars.
Gore doesn't really do it for me. Yeah, it tries to freak you out by showing you disturbing stuff or describing horrific situations, but I just feel a bit queasy and that's about it. No real terror or adrenaline involved.
Psycho people are kind of hit or miss on me - I find the whole "humans are the real monsters" cliche a bit worn. Especially when you have a story that was trying to be supernatural the whole time and then just suddenly goes "fooled you! It was really just this crazy dude fucking people up!", it just feels like a lame follow up. I get that it's supposed to be scary because it has the possibility of being a real person doing it, and there are some really good ones out there, but most of the time it falls a bit flat.
I think that the best stories are supernatural/monster ones. Especially when it's not action-y, definitely takes away when you can just kill the bad guy. I think I've gushed on here in the past about the Skinwalker sub-genre, and of course I love Slenderman stuff (even though his popularity kind of killed the fear factor). Horror stories where the monster is unknown, a force of nature that the protagonists have no way to stand against except to run and hide, those sorts are the best imo. I could read Cryptid horror stories like every single day, forreal.
On October 21 2015 03:50 Requizen wrote: For those of you who enjoy horror fiction, what kind of stories do you like?
Generally I find that horror stories (or any horror media, really) fall into 3 main groups. Monster, gore, or psycho humans. Of course, there are some overlap and outliers, but I think that in general those are the obvious pillars.
Gore doesn't really do it for me. Yeah, it tries to freak you out by showing you disturbing stuff or describing horrific situations, but I just feel a bit queasy and that's about it. No real terror or adrenaline involved.
Psycho people are kind of hit or miss on me - I find the whole "humans are the real monsters" cliche a bit worn. Especially when you have a story that was trying to be supernatural the whole time and then just suddenly goes "fooled you! It was really just this crazy dude fucking people up!", it just feels like a lame follow up. I get that it's supposed to be scary because it has the possibility of being a real person doing it, and there are some really good ones out there, but most of the time it falls a bit flat.
I think that the best stories are supernatural/monster ones. Especially when it's not action-y, definitely takes away when you can just kill the bad guy. I think I've gushed on here in the past about the Skinwalker sub-genre, and of course I love Slenderman stuff (even though his popularity kind of killed the fear factor). Horror stories where the monster is unknown, a force of nature that the protagonists have no way to stand against except to run and hide, those sorts are the best imo. I could read Cryptid horror stories like every single day, forreal.
What kinds do you guys like, if any at all?
May be silly to ask, but have you read Lovecraft?
Actually no, oddly enough. Though I love Lovecraftian stories. I mostly get my horror from short stories online, Youtube, or podcasts. I don't think I own that many horror novels. Maybe I'll pick some up next time I'm at a book store.
On October 21 2015 02:37 Zdrastochye wrote: I feel like a minority. I don't really enjoy anime in any form. I haven't read/watched everything obviously but those I have tried have all failed to capture my attention.
You're not alone. These are the conversations I just skim over.
Had a hilarious D&D session last night. My players ignored following tracks that would have led them to a unicorn. They encountered an elvish civilization deep in the canopies of the trees - they were meant to arrive here. The crime syndicate they've been working with had to abandon their hideout in the city, but is holing up with these elves for now.
The Gnome tinkerer of the guild was passed out drunk with a perpetually filling tankard of ale. One of my players took it and continued to get smashed before the group had a meeting with the elvish matriarch. On the way to the meeting, that player wandered off, found an elf sleeping in a hammock, and traded the tankard for a place to sleep.
The matriarch informed the group of a super tiny, remote village in the woods. Normally the elves wouldn't care, but there is a secluded and mysterious lord that reigns there, locked away in his massive mansion. Recently some elvish scouts disappeared, and they believe that village to be the source.
So the party wanders off and arrives at the village, escorted by one of the elves. As they walk into the mansion, the elf vanishes, and a man appears on a banister high up on the wall. This is a maniacal man dressed in an assortment of odd colors. He is laughing with glee and invites the party to play some games with him (not that they had a choice).
The room goes black, and when light returns, they are in the center of a maze of mirrors. Any time they reach a dead end, they are ambushed by Shadows. The second encounter with Shadows ended in Garcia (the aforementioned drunkard) throws his spear, which passes through the Shadow and shatters the panes of mirror walls. The shockwave continues through, and the walls of the maze collapse. From the dust emerged several more pairs of Shadows. This fight almost took them out, each attack from the Shadows sapping the players' strength away more and more.
I'm seriously looking forward to continuing with Frimme's Funhouse, and now I have an extra week to think of puzzles/rooms.
Cool D&D story, but I always wondered, are the players playing their game with a DM to facilitate them, or are they simply there to add pieces to the DM's story allowed only to stray momentarily from the plot? Like if the DM designs this big area for the party to go into, what if they make a decision at the gates to simply not go through it?
I'm bad at games like this.
to add on to what soniv said it is very much a compromise/give and take relationship with the DM and the players. there are bad players and there are bad DMs. you are trying to play the story like your character would and your DM is trying to give your character a good reason to "go the way"/"take the quest"/etc. that he wrote a good story for. a bad player could say. I start riding east away from the group across a field with no destination in mind untill i have to sleep then i get up and do it again. a bad DM could say rocks fall from the sky surrounding you with only one way you can go. etc etc.
for example right now i have a good DM with a bad group of people who are wandering around and getting in alliances with people who are basically not heading in the "direction" of the original "quest" that most of us accepted together. leading the good players to try and round people up and gain intell while getting ditched repeatedly. only to find their allies standing behind the guys that are now shooting at us zzzz its like they have no goal in mind with their char and its partially my DMs fault for letting so many people join with so little experience and giving them so much free choice in a world he is dming for the first time (Warhammer RP). and just letting who ever shows up play even if not everyone is there and having the people not there wander off... honestly im going tonight and if its not better it might be one of my last sessions as bad as i would feel ditching my dm bro. I left off running down an ally by myself with almost no HP left and thugs that are stronger than me in hot pursuit! so maybe if i die ill just not make another char.
also req i love short horror stories online some horror movies and have also been enjoying american horror story on netflix the types of short stories i like the most are probably ones where you cant tell if the narrator is insane or not. Like a lot of SCP and stuff like that too. I have no mouth and i must scream etc.
Can't believe that from an avid Apple fangay years ago, now I can't stand Macs and iPhones. Not sure if Apple dropped the ball or other manufacturers stepped up their game..
On October 21 2015 03:50 Requizen wrote: For those of you who enjoy horror fiction, what kind of stories do you like?
Generally I find that horror stories (or any horror media, really) fall into 3 main groups. Monster, gore, or psycho humans. Of course, there are some overlap and outliers, but I think that in general those are the obvious pillars.
Gore doesn't really do it for me. Yeah, it tries to freak you out by showing you disturbing stuff or describing horrific situations, but I just feel a bit queasy and that's about it. No real terror or adrenaline involved.
Psycho people are kind of hit or miss on me - I find the whole "humans are the real monsters" cliche a bit worn. Especially when you have a story that was trying to be supernatural the whole time and then just suddenly goes "fooled you! It was really just this crazy dude fucking people up!", it just feels like a lame follow up. I get that it's supposed to be scary because it has the possibility of being a real person doing it, and there are some really good ones out there, but most of the time it falls a bit flat.
I think that the best stories are supernatural/monster ones. Especially when it's not action-y, definitely takes away when you can just kill the bad guy. I think I've gushed on here in the past about the Skinwalker sub-genre, and of course I love Slenderman stuff (even though his popularity kind of killed the fear factor). Horror stories where the monster is unknown, a force of nature that the protagonists have no way to stand against except to run and hide, those sorts are the best imo. I could read Cryptid horror stories like every single day, forreal.
What kinds do you guys like, if any at all?
May be silly to ask, but have you read Lovecraft?
Actually no, oddly enough. Though I love Lovecraftian stories. I mostly get my horror from short stories online, Youtube, or podcasts. I don't think I own that many horror novels. Maybe I'll pick some up next time I'm at a book store.
Read At the Mountains of Madness. It is my favorite Lovecraft story. I'm pretty sure you can even find it online, as no one owns the copyright. A quick Google search confirms this fact.
as far as anime goes i basically just toured some commonly mentioned ones but never got into it too much. I watched cowboy bebop, trigun, tank un panzer, baccano, kill la kill, attack on titan, canaan, claymore, some gundam but i couldnt get into it.
canaan and claymore were great and i would accept suggestions for more like those.
On October 21 2015 05:00 ComaDose wrote: as far as anime goes i basically just toured some commonly mentioned ones but never got into it too much. I watched cowboy bebop, trigun, tank un panzer, baccano, kill la kill, attack on titan, canaan, claymore, some gundam but i couldnt get into it.
canaan and claymore were great and i would accept suggestions for more like those.
You should check out K-ON. Look at this savage shit:
On October 21 2015 05:00 ComaDose wrote: as far as anime goes i basically just toured some commonly mentioned ones but never got into it too much. I watched cowboy bebop, trigun, tank un panzer, baccano, kill la kill, attack on titan, canaan, claymore, some gundam but i couldnt get into it.
canaan and claymore were great and i would accept suggestions for more like those.
On October 21 2015 03:50 Requizen wrote: For those of you who enjoy horror fiction, what kind of stories do you like?
Generally I find that horror stories (or any horror media, really) fall into 3 main groups. Monster, gore, or psycho humans. Of course, there are some overlap and outliers, but I think that in general those are the obvious pillars.
Gore doesn't really do it for me. Yeah, it tries to freak you out by showing you disturbing stuff or describing horrific situations, but I just feel a bit queasy and that's about it. No real terror or adrenaline involved.
Psycho people are kind of hit or miss on me - I find the whole "humans are the real monsters" cliche a bit worn. Especially when you have a story that was trying to be supernatural the whole time and then just suddenly goes "fooled you! It was really just this crazy dude fucking people up!", it just feels like a lame follow up. I get that it's supposed to be scary because it has the possibility of being a real person doing it, and there are some really good ones out there, but most of the time it falls a bit flat.
I think that the best stories are supernatural/monster ones. Especially when it's not action-y, definitely takes away when you can just kill the bad guy. I think I've gushed on here in the past about the Skinwalker sub-genre, and of course I love Slenderman stuff (even though his popularity kind of killed the fear factor). Horror stories where the monster is unknown, a force of nature that the protagonists have no way to stand against except to run and hide, those sorts are the best imo. I could read Cryptid horror stories like every single day, forreal.
What kinds do you guys like, if any at all?
May be silly to ask, but have you read Lovecraft?
Actually no, oddly enough. Though I love Lovecraftian stories. I mostly get my horror from short stories online, Youtube, or podcasts. I don't think I own that many horror novels. Maybe I'll pick some up next time I'm at a book store.
Read At the Mountains of Madness. It is my favorite Lovecraft story. I'm pretty sure you can even find it online, as no one owns the copyright. A quick Google search confirms this fact.
It is precisely what you like.
Oooh cool, I thought I'd have to track down a physical copy. Thanks!
On October 21 2015 05:00 ComaDose wrote: as far as anime goes i basically just toured some commonly mentioned ones but never got into it too much. I watched cowboy bebop, trigun, tank un panzer, baccano, kill la kill, attack on titan, canaan, claymore, some gundam but i couldnt get into it.
canaan and claymore were great and i would accept suggestions for more like those.
On October 21 2015 05:00 ComaDose wrote: as far as anime goes i basically just toured some commonly mentioned ones but never got into it too much. I watched cowboy bebop, trigun, tank un panzer, baccano, kill la kill, attack on titan, canaan, claymore, some gundam but i couldnt get into it.
canaan and claymore were great and i would accept suggestions for more like those.
You should check out K-ON. Look at this savage shit
On October 21 2015 05:00 ComaDose wrote: as far as anime goes i basically just toured some commonly mentioned ones but never got into it too much. I watched cowboy bebop, trigun, tank un panzer, baccano, kill la kill, attack on titan, canaan, claymore, some gundam but i couldnt get into it.
canaan and claymore were great and i would accept suggestions for more like those.
EPT
